Laugh Out Loud
by AlyssaLies28
Summary: Sometimes all you can do to stop yourself from crying, is to laugh.  Kuwabara still ends up crying.


_A story I didn't know I was writing until I was already done with it. Kuwabara, you poor motherfucker. _

"Don't laugh."

Kuwabara meant to shout it out. Make everyone listen to his request. But the words came from his mouth in a desperate plea, showing just how close he was to breaking down and crying in the wobbled way those two words were uttered.

No one paid him any mind though. They were all busy laughing uncontrollably at Kuwabara. More specifically, they were laugh at how ridiculous Kuwabara's hair looked. Rather than being gelled into its usual cocoon shape, Kuwabara's orange hair was closely shaven to his scalp. In small parts the hair had been completely sheared off to expose the raw tender skin beneath. Other areas still had tufts of the orange curly tresses an inch or two long. This along with how his hodgepodge hair only served to accentuate his sharp features was what the group gathered found hilarious.

Kurama, ever smart as he was, did not notice the split lip still bleeding or the welts and bruising all along Kuwabara's face though his laughter. Kuwabara stood before his friends a laughing stock. He tried to breath deep shaky breathes through his nose, but they caught in his throat and fought to bring down the tears teetering on his light eyelashes. He looked down at the stone paving of Genkai's courtyard in shame as a tear streaked down his face from his nearly swollen shut eyes. The sound of Hiei's mocking laughter joining in the others told Kuwabara his tear did not go unseen.

A gasp of air was gulped down quietly. At his side his big hands clutched over and over, trying to find something to grip onto in order to hold himself together. He heard Yusuke snort out a comment about how Kuwabara couldn't even win in a fight against a buzzer. Kuwabara looked up sharply.

"It's..it isn't funny." he choked out once more.

Through the throbbing pain and the haze of tears he saw Botan laughing her ass off on the ground. Beside her was Yusuke rolling around holding his sides in laughter. Kurama and Hiei hung off one another trying to quell their own amusement. Off in the distance Kuwabara saw the look of concern on Yukina's face and Genkai's indifferent stare as he backing away from the group towards the stairs. Making the long trek down the stairs, he gingerly wiped at his eyes.

His back hurt. It felt like someone'd ripped off his skin, ground it up, put the shredded meat back on, and then added in a dash of acid. Kuwabara could only imagine what it looked like. The top layer of skin around his wrists was rubbed raw and bright red. He tried his hardest to ignore all the pains beating in time with his heart below his back.

The bus ride back into town was nearly unbearable. All the other passengers kept casting pitying or scornful looks his way. He ended up spending the forty-five minute trip propped against one of the floor to ceiling poles, half standing half sliding down. Kuwabara's ankles ached just as his wrists did; more so because his show constantly rubbed against the sores that wrapped around his ankles. His right knee was about to buckle. Dried blood streaked down the side of his other leg from the stab would in his thigh, matting his leg hairs in a way that ripped them apart with every step he took walking around down town. Kuwabara couldn't bear to categorize the pains further up.

He knew he should have gone home and started putting himself back together. What he really should have done was brush pass though laughing pack of hyenas he called friends and gotten Yukina to heal him like he'd planned.

Just. The laughter got to him.

All he'd heard for since this morning was people laughing at his expense. Most of it was cruel and degrading. The teasing of his friends was salt to his wounds. Kuwabara wanted to vomit from the pain, not all of which was physical.

Kuwabara wandered though the city; creeping along the darkened alleyways strewn with rotting trash. It made him feel marginally better to be amongst the rubbish. Towards the early morning of the hours, Kuwabara had stumbled across a scantily clad woman being beaten by a group of wild boys. He would have stomped their heathen asses without witnessing their act of cruelty just for the fact they were wearing the color orange. Tanoshi gang. Very territorial. Extremely aggressive. Brutal to the point of murder and worse.

Kuwabara relished the looks of terror on the trodden faces of the gangsters. He made a grab for the youngest looking one. Had to be around ten. The boy squealed in fear and Kuwabara's heart clenched at what he knew the boy thought he'd do to him. It was the practice of the Tanoshi. One of the reasons women didn't join the gang and they had to recruit such young members. Kuwabara watched at the rest of the punks scampered away in the same manner the woman had earlier before turning his attention back to the boy squirming in his grip.

"Tell me ya name, kid." Kuwabara said roughly. The kid whimpered, so Kuwabara loosened his hold on the boy's arm. He was shamed to see a bruise rising up already.

"Kukazu. Please, I.." the boy paused trying to work up the courage to throw dignity to the wind. Kuwabara spared the boy the humiliation of having to beg for a lighter treatment.

"Go home. Don't get messed up with a gang like the Tanoshi." Kuwabara said in a soft voice. The boy looked up at the looming form of Kuwabara. The kindness shown to him caused the held back tears to escape when pain and submission could not.

"I can't stand up to the Tanoshi. They will recruit my younger brothers!" Kukazu shout out falling to the ground sobbing. Kuwabara stared numbly, backing into the brick wall behind him and sliding to the ground. Honor bound him to protect those needed to be protected. The boy before him was just a representation of all those suffering from the control the Tanoshi had over the greater part of the north side.

Kuwabara didn't need to think about what he had to do. Revenge was not something he indulged in. It was a waste of time for all the wrong done to him. This was going to be an exception. He had been hurt in a bad way and many more lived in a state of fear of his attackers.

"Kukazu." The boy looked up with a hiccup. Kuwabara stared into his eyes for a moment, trying to see for the crazy plan he was forming. Kuwabara gave a half smile. "Go home," he gently urged again. "The Tanoshi will not bother you or your family again."

The Tanoshi were going down.

With that thought in mind, Kuwabara clambered to his feet and headed off in the direction of his home, tossing a wave over top his shoulder.

When Kuwabara made it to his and Shizuru's apartment he hesitated. The first rays of light were easing in the sky. Still Kuwabara remained staring at the door in front of him as he'd done for the last few hours. He rubbed a hand over the uneven top of his head.

He didn't want to worry Shizuru with his appearance. She'd flip when she dragged the whole story from her brother. Kuwabara was sure if he was ready to tell anyone what all had happened. He was still trying to sort out the Sensui thing. Raising a hand to knock at the door, Kuwabara stopped just before rapping his knuckles on the chipped wood. He sighed and walked off.

Halfway back to Genkai's Kuwabara realized what exactly he was planning on doing. Killing a bunch of humans. Murder. But these humans were ruthless; the leader a demon of a man himself. Why was the life of a human so much more precious than the thousands of demons he killed without thought. Kuwabara wondered if some of those he'd slain were innocent. Or innocent enough to not be slashed in half with his spirit sword.

Kuwabara was plagued by similar thoughts on the trip up the stairs. By the time he walked into Genkai's house he was filled with resolve in his actions.

"Kazuma. You are hurt." Yukina. Sweet, caring Yukina. Kuwabara smiled sadly at her. "Yeah."

She grasped his hand and lead in over to the floor mats in the other room, sitting him down. Kuwabara removed his ragged shirt and listened to the thud of Yukina's gems falling to the floor. Her healing hands on his back brought a sigh of relief from him.

"They should not have laughed." Yukina whispered. All Kuwabara could get out was another "Yeah."

She healed his back in silence. Shifting to kneel in front of him, Yukina cupped Kuwabara face between her palms. Looking into his eyes, she said softly, "Your eyes tell me you are going to do something foolish."

Kuwabara chuckled at the irony. "Your brother would say I am always doing something foolish."

Yukina bristled. "Hiei does not know nearly half as much as he thinks he does." She bit out with all the coldness of her koorime bloodline. Kuwabara opened his mouth to speak but was cut off with the arrival of Kurama.

"Oh, Kuwabara. When did you find your way back? We all missed you at the party last night. Yusuke took it as a personal challenge to drink enough for the both of you. I believe he is still highly intoxicated. Are you alright?" Kurama asked with concern, having finally noticed Yukina twittering about him.

Yusuke burst into the room as Yukina, not caring to inform Kurama of the state of Kuwabara's injuries, silently moved to heal the wounds on Kuwabara's wrists and ankles.

"Kuwahara. Shit! Kuwabara. Wha-waaaah were you doing runnin'- Huh?" Yusuke slumped over Kurama and fixed him with an out of focused look. Kurama shook his head, "I didn't say anything."

Yusuke belched and blew it into Kurama's face. "Oh. Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled out, swinging his head to look at the man and stumbling. Kurama gripped him around the waist to keep him upright. "Wah you doing runnin' off las night? You hair dun look _that_ bad." Yusuke sniffled as tears sprung to his eyes. "I-I really mist you."

Kuwabara stared. "Oh, good. You really are still drunk. Kurama, ignore what I'm about to ask. You're still on probation." Yukina was just finishing up with Kuwabara's healing. She was nestled in between his spread thighs, hands hovering above his pelvis and gems dripping from her downcast eyes. She smirked, eerily similar to Hiei's, at Kuwabara's next sentence. "How'd you feel about killing a few hundred humans?"

Kurama gasped in surprise, dropping a deadweight Yusuke on the floor. Unfazed, Yusuke crawled his way over to Kuwabara. Yusuke went to throw himself over Kuwabara. Yukina let out a squeak as she was crushed between their bodies. Sobbing brokenly into Kuwabara's shoulder, Yusuke gurgled out a watery, "I'd do anythin' for ya, Kuwabara! You, you and me? We besties!"

"Kuwabara. Do you know what you are saying? What you are asking of Yusuke?" Kurama asked incredulously. "He is a demon just as much as Hiei and me. He will be punished for taking the lives of Enma's favored mortal creatures."

Kuwabara looked Kurama died in the eye. Delicately he said, "They hurt me Kurama. They hurt me like a man would hurt a woman."

Yusuke's muffled voice traveled up from its place buried in Yukina's hair. "OhMyGod. You 'ad a baby! Can I be the daddy?" he sobbed. At this point no one paid any mind to Yusuke's ramblings as he drifted back into a drunken stupor. However, the growl that came from the doorway caused everyone (who was somber) to stare.

"If those beasts are going to act like demons I'm sure as Hell going to treat them as such!" Hiei snapped before dashing from the complex.

"Holy shit he's going to kill everyone!" Kuwabara panicked, dumping Yukina and Yusuke to the side as he jumped after Hiei's long gone form.

Kurama rushed up. "I will go after him. Please, Kuwabara, stay here and rest. And tend to Yusuke."

Kuwabara glanced down at the quivering form on top of Yukina. Yusuke had burst into another round of tears at the confusion all around him and Yukina was rubbing his back trying to calm him down. "Tell Hiei…to kill only the Tanoshi members that are bad."

Kurama grinned devilishly, a glint of gold in his eyes. "Oh, I'll do more than just tell him."

Days later when King Enma (Yusuke liked to call him King Enema. Funnier for everyone else cause Yusuke had no idea what the fuck an enema was) was crying for the heads of Kurama and Hiei, Koenma stood firm in defending his two detectives, saying there was no proof the two were the ones to massacre 267 humans. Knowing his son recorded every moment of his teams lives, Enma demanded to see the tapes. Koenma quickly agreed and wasn't surprised when his father threw a fit over the missing footage during the timeframe the deed occurred. He explained that he'd stopped the recordings to allow his team a private moment to get over the shocking discovery of Kuwabara's rape. King Enma being significantly less organized than his son, and that was saying something, had nothing to justify punishing the two demons. Enma was nothing but a man to follow justice.

And so, Kurama and Hiei got off scotch free. Kuwabara managed to grow his hair back out, missing the orange color the Tanoshi thought they alone owned. Yusuke was constantly reminded of how he was a crying drunk and still had no idea of the escapades that went on that day. Kuwabara liked to keep it that was so he'd have something to out of the whole shit fest to laugh at. As time went on he cried over it less and less. Hiei was there to chase away his fears and insecurities. Kurama was able to talk some sense into Kuwabara and his more unreasonable days, like when he decided he was going to rip open every dimension in order to find the one Itsuki took Sensui's body to just to make sure he was still dead. And Yusuke was there to lend a laugh to Kuwabara with his highly unusual antics.


End file.
